Hiring help is tricky but there are steps you can take to make sure you properly vet applicants and give yourself the best chance at hiring the right person.

I’m no longer a fan of hiring locally because it costs way more (at least here in LA) and there are plenty of virtual assistants (VAs) across the U.S. in cities with a much lower cost of living and therefore lower hourly rates.

My favorite hiring platform for VAs is Upwork. This is where I found my assistant and the two retouchers I work with.

Upwork has VAs across the world but for admin work, I recommend U.S. based or from the Philippines for English speaking help with an understanding of our culture. This is especially important if your VA is client facing– and an assistant usually is.

If you decide to use a VA from the Philippines, then it’s best you use other platforms that specialize in providing VAs from the Philippines.

If you’re going for a full-time position, then I’m a big fan of Somewhere, an agency that vets applicants for you from the Philippines. A mentor I trust is an investor in this company. I know my next full-time hire will come from Somewhere.

Hiring abroad is a little trickier even on Upwork which is why I recommend working with a recruiting agency because they do all the vetting for you and you choose from the best candidates they present to you.

If you’re going for a part-time Filipino hire and you don’t have the funds to invest in an agency, then I recommend OnlineJobs.ph.

A source I’ve found through hours of research and I recommend it because it has a lot of resources on how to hire properly and how to navigate Filipino workers.

The following are steps I take when hiring a VA on Upwork and my advice to you, especially if you’ve never hired before and you don’t know what to look for.

Essential steps for photographers when hiring a VA:

• Stay away from any applicant without an established work history. Meaning, over 50K worth of work.
• Stay away from any applicant who doesn’t have over a 98% review rating or if they have none at all. Trust me, don’t risk it. It’s not worth your time despite the lower bids.
• Automatically dismiss all candidates who don’t send you a personal note based on your job description, explaining why they are interested in working with you and how they would make a good fit.
• Automatically dismiss all candidates who don’t follow your instructions to send a cover letter (so that they have an opportunity to write you a personal note).
• Automatically dismiss all candidates who don’t answer your questions (yes ask questions).
• Ask smart questions about their experience based on your needs. For example, what software do they work with? How do they stay organized? What actions do they take when they don’t know what to do? How do they solve x,y,z problems?
• Figure out the answers you’d like to hear for the above questions.
• With specific jobs, ask for a test to prove to you they are capable of doing what you’re asking for. For example, before I hired my retouchers, I asked them to do a test for me. I gave them a real life order with real notes and whoever followed my instructions and understood English well and of course did the job best, got hired.

Got questions? Leave them in the comments below.👇